1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to temperature control systems and methods and, more particularly, to a new and improved self-cleaning oven temperature control system and method.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Self-cleaning ovens and temperature controls therefor are old and well-known in the prior art as exemplified by U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,121,158; 3,122,626; 3,310,654; 3,327,094; 3,353,004; 3,569,670; 3,648,012; 3,738,174; 3,924,101; 4,166,268; 4,214,224; and 4,369,352. Conventionally, the bake temperature controls for many prior art self-cleaning ovens are capable of being recalibrated in service to compensate for oven components that deviate from design specifications or to accommodate individual user preferences. See, for example, the above-identified '670 patent and the '101 patent and the '352 patent.
Some prior art temperature control systems for self-cleaning ovens are designed to maintain a constant clean temperature even though the bake temperatures have been recalibrated and offset by a predetermined amount from nominal values. If the clean temperature remains constant when the oven has been recalibrated to provide higher bake temperatures in order to offset a negative drift in temperature sensing hardware, the clean temperature may be too low to provide an effective self-cleaning operation. Recalibration of the bake temperatures in other prior art systems necessarily affects the clean temperature wherein a change in the bake temperatures causes an equal or proportionate change in the clean temperature. However, these prior art systems can cause the clean temperature to be recalibrated to an unsafe, high level.